Graduating senior reflects on five years of frustration in the Ed. Dept.

By Steve DeGennaro
Staff Writer

I look at the blue-studded gold ring with the WPU letters on one side and the BA symbol on the other and reflect on the last five years, 143 credits, good experiences, bad experiences, and wasted time in the certification program.

That was my time at William Paterson University.

I enrolled as a History major in 1998 with intentions to pursue certification in secondary education. I didn’t know what to expect in the education program for good reason—there was virtually no communication between the department and its students. The department, it appears, relays its information through the individual classes. In my case, this proved a failure.

I took Teaching as a Profession in the fall 1999 semester; I was looking forward to the class and the certification program. Since my freshman year of high school, I had dreamed of becoming a history teacher.. I was in for a rude awakening.

One would expect students to learn how to do a lesson plan, what the fundamental concepts of education are, and what to expect from the rest of the program. Instead, classes became soap opera forums. One professor spent class after class discussing his dating experiences, and the details of his divorce. I learned more about the exploits of Madonna than about the rudiments of the educational spectrum.

The rest of the program wasn’t any better. Unprofessionalism in the field experiences office, lack of communication, and the unwillingness to work with students.

Instead of working with me when I had surgery, which prevented me from driving for three months, the certification office forced me to push off my second field experience—which no other teaching school in the state requires—by another semester.

The last straw was when my class and work schedule conflicted with the second field experience. After weeks of meetings I was told I would push everything off by yet another semester.

“Good day to you sir,” I said as I dropped out of the program.

Three years wasted. I am now pursuing the Alternate Route program through the state, which the department doesn’t advertise, to gain certification.

As I reflect on my last five years, I had great experiences and bad experiences. I grew into a completely different person then I was back when I first walked into Corri Well’s Writing Effective Prose class. Ironically my first and last semester was Well’s first and last semester.

May 8 , 2003 Issue